Exhibiting and viewing apparatus



April 5, 1938. M. s. CROFT EXHIBiTING AND VIEWING APPARATUS Filed May 22, 1936 Patented Apr. 5, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE EXHIBITING AND VIEWING APPARATUS Martin S. Croft, Chicago, Ill.

Application May 22, 1936, Serial No. 81,253

3 Claims. (Cl. 8824) This invention relates to improvements in exhibiting and viewing apparatus, particularly adapted, though not necessarily limited in its use for exhibiting and viewing transparent slides, and

one of the objects of the invention is to provide an improved apparatus of this character, well adapted for the use of students, for stimulating in the individual student concentration and special attention to the subject under consideration.

Heretofore, the study of visual matter has been eifected generally by means of the use of a stereopticon or lantern inwhich transparent slides have been employed, and the subject matter has been projected upon the screen or wall, necessitating the use of dark rooms and a special operator for the apparatus.

Furthermore, when such apparatus is used and the subject is projected upon a wall or screen, the students mind is distracted for various reasons, from the subject under consideration.

It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide an improved apparatus of this character by means of the use of which, visual material such as pictures, lantern slides, films, reels, etc., is made available to the individual student or person, without the use of a stereopticon or dark room.

A further object is to provide an improved apparatus of this character which will be simple, durable, light, and compact in construction and arrangement, inexpensive to manufacture, and effective and efficient in operation.

To the attainment of these ends and the ac-- complishment of other new and useful objects as will appear, the invention consists in the features of novelty in substantially the construction, combination and arrangement of the several parts, hereinafter more fully described and claimed and shown in the accompanying drawing illustrating this invention, and in which Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of an apparatus of this character constructed in accordance with the principles of this invention.

Figure 2 is a right hand end elevation of Figure ,1.

Figure 3 is a detail, vertical, sectional view taken on line 3-3, Figure 1, on an enlarged scale.

Figure 4 is a detail perspective view, on an enlarged scale, of the slide holder, partly broken away.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the numeral Ill designates a closed box or casing which is constructedof any suitable material and may be of any desired size and configuration.

The upper portion of the front wall II is inclined upwardly and backwardly, and is provided with an opening l2, forming a view opening. A flange l3 may be provided across the upper portion of the opening, and flanges It may be provided 'along the vertical edges or walls of the opening.

The top l5 of the box extending from the portion of the walljin which the view opening I2 is arranged, is preferably inclined downwardly'toward the rear wall I6, and if desired, the top 15 may be removable and may be secured in position in any desired or suitable manner.

Within the box thus formed is a partition H, which extends from the bottom of the view opening l2 rearwardly and preferably downwardly, and terminates a considerable distance short of the rear wall 16 of the box.

This partition I! extends entirely across the box, and arranged at the inner end of the partition is a wall provided with an upright portion l8 and a forwardly and downwardly inclined portion I9. This wall cooperates with the front wall ll of the box and the partition H to form a lamp chamber 20 in which a suitable lamp 2| is arranged.

In order to provide access to the lamp, a portion 22 of one of the walls of the box may be removable to constitute a door or closure for an opening which constitutes an entrance to the chamber 20, whereby access may be had to the lamp.

In the inclined portion I! of the wall of the chamber is an opening 23 of any desired size, and arranged adjacent this opening are supports or guides 24 for the reception of a screen 25, preferably of ground glass.

Supported by the portion I9 of the wall on the other side thereof and adjacent the said opening 23, are guides 26 for the reception of a slide in which the picture or material to be exhibited is held. This slide preferably comprises a frame formed of top and bottom channel members 21 and an end member 28, the frame being shaped to form an opening 29. The other end of the frame is open as at 30, and projecting beyond this opening and in the same plane as one face of the frame, is an extension 3i which is preferably solid and is of any desired length. The free end of the extension 3| may be shaped as at 32 to form a handle by means of which the slide may be gripped.

The matter 33 to be viewed is placed within the frame so as to extend across the opening 29, and

will be held in position by means of the flanges 21 and the and member 28.

In the side wall of the box there is provided an opening 34 of a size to permit the slide or frame to be inserted into the box and to be positioned within the guides 26.

The matter 33, to be viewed is positioned in the slide so that when the slide is placed in position in the guides 26, it will be on the side of the ground glass or screen 25 opposite to the side on which the lamp 2| is arranged and will be disposed in close proximity to the screen.

The extension 3| on the slide is of such a length that when the slide is in position, the end of the extension will project beyond the box so as to provide a handle by means of which the slide may be manipulated.

It will thus be seen that the slide may be inserted into and removed from the box through the opening 34.

Arranged in proximity to the wall I 6 of the box is a holder 34 having an opening 35 therein of any desired size and configuration, and this holder is adapted to receive and hold a concaved reflector 36, and which reflector is preferably a mirror, although any other concaved reflector suitable for the purpose may be employed.

The reflector is held in position by means of its edges resting behind suitable flanges or supports 31 on the frame.

The frame is mounted upon a slide 38 and the slide in turn is mounted to move upon a support 39, which support preferably inclinesdownwardly from the front to the rear thereof.

The reflector 36 is positioned at such an angle that a perfect image will be viewed through the view opening of the box.

The slide 38 may be formed of any suitable material, but is preferably formed of sheet material of a width slightly less than the width of the frame or holder 34. The lateral edges of the slide are preferably bent inwardly as at 40 to form channels which overlap the edges 4| of the supports 39. These supports 39 are preferably formedof 'sheet material and are secured in position in any suitable manner, but are arranged uprightly with a portion of the top thereof bent inwardly as at 42 towards each other, and then outwardly to form outwardly opening channels so that the edges or channel 40 of the slide will receive the edges 4| of the uprights 39, thereby providing a connecting means between the slide and the supports, which will permit of the slide to be freely moved upon the supports to any desired position, and so that a predetermined focal length may be obtained and maintained between the reflector 36 and the object 33 to be viewed.

Any suitable means may be provided for moving the slide 38 upon its support, but a simple and eflicient means embodies a plurality of rack members 43 secured to the bottom of the slide 38 and spaced laterally from each other. 44 passes through the supports 39 and the side walls of the box, and one end thereof extends beyond the box and is provided with a hand operating wheel or grip 45 by means of which the.

shaft 44 may be rotated.

Secured to the shaft 44 for rotation therewith are gear wheels 46, one for each of the racks 43 and which mesh with the respective racks.

It will therefore be seen that by rotating the shaft 44 by means of the handle or wheel 45, the slide 38 together with the holder 34 and the reflector 36 may be moved toward and away from the object to be viewed, so that the proper focal A shaft length between the reflector and the object may be obtained.

Any suitable means may be provided for limiting the movement of the slide 38 toward the object. A suitable and efficient device comprises a member 41 secured within the path of the movement of the forward edge of the slide. This member 41 may be of a flexible or resilient nature so that it may be deflected and maintained in its deflected position to permit of the installation or removal of the slide 38.

The opening 35 in the holder 34 for the reflector may be of any desired configuration and of any desired size.

The device thus provided will be of a simple, durable and light construction, so that the same may be readily transported, and the reflector 36 is so positioned with respect to the object being viewed that the rays of light from the lamp 2| passing through the object being viewed will be directed against the reflector, and then reflected through the view opening I2.

When it is desired to change the object 33, the slide containing the same may be drawn out through the side of the box and either a new slide interchanged therewith or the object 33 may be removed and a new one substituted therefor.

With this improvement it will be manifest that visual material is made available for the individual student and the apparatus will stimulate concentration and attention of the student, so that his attention will not be diverted during he time of study of the object, and furthermore, the use of dark rooms and expensive projecting apparatus, heretofore used for this purpose, will be dispensed with. 4

While the preferred form of the invention has been herein shown and described, it is to be understood that various changes may be made in the details of construction and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts, within the scope of the claims, without departing from the spirit of this invention.

What is claimed as new is:-

1. A viewing and exhibiting apparatus embodying a housing having substantially vertical front and rear walls, a portion of the front wall extending above the rear wall and inclined backwardly in a general direction towards said rear wall, a view opening in said portion of the front wall, a downwardly inclined partition in the housing extending from the base of said view opening toward and terminating a substantial distance short of the rear wall, an upright wall depending below the end of said partition, a screen supported by and forming a part of said upright wall and cooperating with said partition to form a lamp chamber, a lamp in said chamber, a curved reflector in the housing, said reflector having a fixed angle of inclination, and means mounting said reflector for bodily movement toward and away from said screen, while the angle of inclination of the reflector remains substantially constant.

2. A viewing and exhibiting apparatus embodying a housing having substantially vertical front aiid'rear walls, a portion of the front wall extending above the rear wall and inclined backwardly in a general direction towards said-rear wall, a view opening in said portion of the front wall, a downwardly inclined partition in the housing extending from the base of said view opening toward and terminating a substantial distance short of the rear wall, an upright wall depending below the end of said partition, a

screen supported by and forming a part of said upright wall and cooperating with said partition to form a lamp chamber, a lamp in said chamber, a curved reflector in the housing, said reflector having a fixed angle of inclination, means mounting said reflector for bodily movement toward and away from said screen, while the angle of inclination of the reflector remains substantially constant,'and a stop for limiting the movement of said reflector toward said screen.

3. An exhibiting and viewing apparatus embodying a housing having upright front and rear walls and provided with a view opening in one of said walls, a concaved reflector having a fixed angle of inclination and disposed in alinement with said view opening, a partition extending from the last said wall below said view opening,

toward and terminating considerably short 01' the opposite wall, a partition extending downwardly from the free end of the first said partition to the base of said housing, a window in the downwardly extended partition, a translucent screen in said window, said screen being disposed in front of said curved reflector, said screen and the said downwardly extended partition cooperating with that wall of said housing in which the view opening is located, to form therewith a lamp chamber, and means mounting said curved reflector for bodily movement toward and away from the said screen and the said view opening, while the angle of inclination of the curved reflector in relation to the .view opening remains constant.

' MARTIN S. CROFT. 

